University of Utah closes Sandy campus

The University of Utah will close its Sandy Center satellite campus on January 1. The move is a direct response to a state directive to reallocate nearly $20 million in funding toward programs that meet workforce needs.

The decades-old Sandy Center is located 15 miles south of the main campus. It primarily offers general education courses also available at the main campus and online. Closing it will save the university facility and administrative costs.

Fall classes will continue as scheduled for the roughly 660 students enrolled. Of that group, only 33 students registered exclusively for Sandy Center courses. The rest are taking a combination of classes at the main campus or online.

State funding mandate drives closure

The closure stems from HB 265. This bill directs Utah's eight public degree-granting colleges to collectively cut $60 million over three years. That sum represents about 10% of each institution's instructional budget. The funds must be reinvested in academic fields serving high-demand workforce needs, such as engineering, nursing, and artificial intelligence.

The bill, enacted last year, prohibits colleges from raising tuition to cover the difference. The Utah Board of Higher Education has approved a below-inflation 2.2% increase in tuition and fees for the 2026-27 academic year.

The University of Utah's specific portion of the total $60 million cut is $19.6 million.

A shift away from satellite campuses

Under a reinvestment plan approved last year, the university has already cut 81 degree programs and closed its St. George Graduate Center in 2025. Officials said shuttering the St. George center would save nearly $1.2 million.

The Sandy Center is the university's last solo satellite campus in the state. The university maintains a Herriman campus in partnership with Salt Lake Community College.

In addition to degree-seeking classes, the Sandy Center offers continuing education and youth programming. University officials state those options will continue at other locations after the closure.

The center moved to its current location in 2015. At the time, Sandi Pershing, then the dean of continuing education, said satellite centers "act as a gateway to the University of Utah for post-traditional students who may work full time, have families or be in other situations that make earning or finishing a degree more complicated."

The university has since moved away from this model. Its Murray campus closed in 2016, followed by its Bountiful location the next year.